The late afternoon sun relentlessly beats down on Apple Bloom and Twist, weighing them down with heat fatigue as much as their gear. Despite their best attempts, their minds have gone blank and their feet have carried them to a corn grove, which they are now lost in.

“This stalk looks familiar,” says Twist dumbly, her fingers flicking the covered corn head.

“All the corn looks the same,” groans Apple Bloom. She cranes her head up and blinks beads of sweat out of her eyes as she gazes at the near bare sky in disgust. “I really wish we had some pegasi to give us some clouds. This heat is murdering me.”

To emphasize her point, she pulls on her shirt collar, swearing to the High Powers that steam rises from the opening. Her hand drops to her side and her sweaty fingers adjust their grip on her walking stick, all while Twist staggers behind to take a sip from her canteen.

After sipping, Twist makes an obnoxious gasp and wipes her lips with her sleeve. “Speaking of pegasi, do you think it is true what they say about them?”

Apple Bloom looks over her shoulder. “Well, it's gotta be true if there's so many stories about them... Wait, what do I think is true?”

“The weather control.”

“Oh. Yeah, I still mean it.” Apple Bloom starts walking again. “They build cities outta clouds, after all, so it'd make since that they can do all kinds of stuff with the clouds.”

“If they build cities out of clouds, then how do they do their black-smithing stuff and grow their food?”

Apple Bloom stops, sighs and pinches the bridge of her brows with her head tilted to the dirt path they are traversing on. “I don't know. You'll just have to ask a pegasus when we run into one.”

And that is when the universe sends a blur of gamboge and cerise to tackle Twist to the ground before she can finish screaming. Apple Bloom turns to see what happened, but right as she looks over her shoulder, everything is knocked out of focus from a blend of white, purple and pink hitting her in the side as well.

Apple Bloom's eyes roll and her tongue hangs limp out of her mouth as she makes a groggily groan. She feels the weight shift off of her, then hears talking.

“Hey, it's Twist!” says Scootaloo, wearing her plain white shirt and brown trousers.

Apple Bloom feels light headed when she is forcefully tugged to her feet by none other than Sweetie Belle, who is quick to brush dirt off the traveler's cloak and attire with fast strokes of her hand.

“Sorry, Apple Bloom, I didn't see you there,” chuckles Sweetie Belle anxiously, wearing an identical outfit to Scootaloo and adjusting the cloak and bow on Apple Bloom's head. She then looks over the earth foaling's attire quizzically. “What are you doing, anyway? Camping?”

Apple Bloom rubs her head, groaning. “No, me and Twist are going on a trip.”

“Is it long?” asks Scootaloo, now leaning over to pick up a pile of carrots she had dropped after running into Twist.

“I guess you can say that,” answers Twist glumly.

“Perfect. Here's your going away present!” Scootaloo shoves the bundle of carrots into Twists arms, making her stumble a bit and her glasses nearly fall off her muzzle. “Have fun, you two!”

And with that being said, Scootaloo disappears into the corn, much to the confusion of Twist and Apple Bloom, and it only gets worse when an angry shout and barking dogs echo over the field.

“You little rascals! I'm gonna string you by your toes!” screams a furious mare.

“Wait, are these Golden Harvest's carrots!?” cries Twist.

“Uh...” Sweetie Belle doesn't finish. Instead she pushes Apple Bloom into the crop field, leaving Twist alone.

Twist gapes at the shaking corn, then at the carrots, then at the scythe blade poking over the top with the ever approaching threats and barking dogs. She carelessly drops the carrots and bolts after Apple Bloom.

Apple Bloom pushes aside the corn stalks as she trails Sweetie Belle as fast as she can, which is not too hard for her since the load she has is light by her standards, but the constant corn head to the face is a nuisance. It does not take them long to catch up to Scootaloo, who looks slightly annoyed by the botched plan.

“I don't know why she's so upset! It was only a couple of carrots!” says Scootaloo.

“Actually, it was twelve,” points out Sweetie Belle. “And then there was that crate of cabbage, those two bags of potatoes last week, and the mushrooms the week before that!”

“Sweetie Belle, I'm trying to say she's clearly overreacting!”

“I'm gonna cut your feet off when I find you!” screeches the farmer.

“See!?” cries Scootaloo, eyes big with worry.

Apple Bloom can't help but smile at this bickering, even though they are being chased by a royally ticked off farmer that is threatening to cut off their feet. However, Apple Bloom's smile snaps away when she sees that they are running straight to a drop.

“CLIFF!” screams Apple Bloom.

The three foalings dig their feet into the ground in a desperate attempt to keep their momentum from flinging them to certain death. Luckily, they stop at the very edge of the cliff, with Scootaloo up front, holding the other two foalings back by keeping her arms spread open.

Apple Bloom's heart rapid thumps vibrates her chest and ears, and she releases a sigh of relief as she looks down, watching loose rocks drop below. The fall would not have killed them, but it still would have hurt quite a bit.

“That was close,” says Sweetie Belle with a nervous chuckle.

Then Twist bumps into Apple Bloom, causing her to lurch forward, thus knocking Scootaloo's footing loose, and in a desperate attempt to keep herself up, she grabs Sweetie Belle, inadvertently pulling her down. The group yells as they tumble down, and when they hit the crest of the hill, their yells turn to grunts, groans and cries of pain as they tumble down the hill, their world a complete mess of blending colors and their bodies being abused by the travel gear, nature and their impacts against each other. Fortunately enough, neither of them hit anything that could kill them, and they come to a hard landing in the middle of a shaded road, groaning and muttering with bits of mulch clinging to them and bodies piled on top of each other in a tangled mess.

"Okay, that was close," says Sweetie Belle, grimacing at a pile of steamy, fly infested dung that sits mere inches from her face.

“Ow... I think I broke something,” groans Scootaloo. She stands up and cracks her back with sickening pops, and she groans again and uses a tree for support as she rubs her spine and flutters her wings. Then she looks at Twist hatefully. “You almost got us killed, you idiot!”

Twist gets up with the help of Apple Bloom, and the latter stares at Scootaloo with a furrowed brow, saying: “Yer the ones who stole Golden Harvest's carrots! If y'all hadn't done that we wouldn't have nearly died!”

Sweetie Belle pushes herself up, stepping away from the excrement landmine. “Well, at least we didn't die, so that is a plus, right?”

“I guess,” mutters Twist as she rubs her glasses on her shirt. She puts them on once they are cleaned and blinks a couple of times, scanning the road curiously. “Where are we, anyway?”

Apple Bloom starts looking around with the other two, noticing how the trees curved up and over, shielding the road from all sunlight with a domed canvas of leaves and branches.

“Looks like the road to Filthy Rich's place,” muses Sweetie Belle.

After Sweetie Belle's words, Apple Bloom feels frost growing in her pocket and she winces as presses her hand against the Amulet as the icy roots dig past the cloth barriers and pierce her skin.

“Remain,” orders the Amulet.

Scootaloo makes a comment about the Rich's not being seen for a little while, and Apple Bloom stumbles back, heart beating slow and heavy like war drums in her ears as her vision narrows. The warning Twilight gave her before she left resurfaces and her eyes widen from the sight of the forest contorting and freezing over.

“I-I think we should get off the road," stammers Apple Bloom, stepping back and clutching the Amulet tighter and her legs at near collapse.

She clutches a tree and looks at the group worryingly as they bicker about whether or not Filthy Rich went on another one of his vacations with Diamond Tiara.

“We should get off the road,” says Apple Bloom, her voice shaking and the Amulet weighing heavy on her, trying to anchor her down to the road.

“Remain!” repeats the Amulet, this time shouting in her ear, making her wince and instinctively fold her ears down on her head.

Apple Bloom almost falls to the ground, snapping some twigs an kicking dirt loose into the road, this time giving Twist and the two troublemakers their undivided attention. Twist calls Apple Bloom and rushes to her side with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo close behind. The awkward foaling practically slides next to Apple Bloom and grabs her shoulder, looking deep into her glazing eyes while the other two watch helplessly.

“Apple Bloom, what's wrong!” says Twist.

The frost is now encasing the branches above them and bleeding into the road, but the other three don't seem to notice it.

“We-we need-”

Apple Bloom is cut off by a shrill wail that echoes down the road, and Apple Bloom clutches the Amulet tighter, wincing in pain with her eyes and squeezed shut and ears folded down. The other three look around and see the frost that has taken over the forest.

“What in the world...?” mutters Scootaloo.

“Get off the road!” barks Apple Bloom.

Not wasting any more time, Twist drags Apple Bloom off the road and into a dense foliage where she then shoves her friend underneath a large root from the tree they landed next to. Apple Bloom winces as her back hits the clay barrier and jumps slightly when the other two foalings scramble next to them. All four of them stare at the sky, biting their tongues or covering their mouths as the scenery darkens with the approaching footsteps.

An unnatural silence befalls the forest and all the green withers under the onslaught of the frost, and Apple Bloom gulps and presses her pocket, feeling the warmth of blood countering the cold. She starts shivering, like the others, and when she lifts her hand to her eyes, they widen and her pupils tremble at the red coating.

Twist grabs Apple Bloom's hand and holds it tight, giving her a supportive nod and slides closer to her. She is about to say something, but stops when they hear slow footsteps approach their hiding spot.

Apple Bloom peeks through a small opening on the root and sees a pair of boots with curved blades on its toes. It is standing motionless for only a few seconds before it turns to their direction, grinding its feet against the frozen dirt. Then it slams its armored hands against the root, ripping into the bark with ease from the sharpness of its bladed digits.

This makes the group retreat further into their hiding spot, trying desperately to melt into the barrier behind them to escape the demon. Apple Bloom watches the ice move out from the creature's hand and ensnare the root like vines. Her blood trickles down her thigh and she bites down on her hand to keep herself from whimpering, but it does not stop her sniffling.

The metal glove tightens against the root, and Scootaloo's fingers dig into the packed dirt, wincing quietly, until she removes a good sized stone and chucks it into the forest away from them. The stone crashes into the forest, creating quite the disturbance from the snapping wood, and the creature pulls away, shrieking and runs towards the disturbance. With the demon distracted, the group takes the opportunity to retreat farther into the forest, and they run as far and fast as their legs could carry them away from the frozen field.

Apple Bloom has no idea how long she has been running, but when the group stops for a breather, her sides feel like they are splitting, she tastes cotton in her mouth, and her throat and lungs burn. She grips a tree, hunching over, trembling and gulping for air with raspy breaths while her other hand clutches her hurting side, not wanting to think about the blood she found on herself earlier.

The others stop around her, with Twist sitting on the ground, wheezing, and Sweetie Belle flopping on her back on the grass, panting heavily. Only Scootaloo does not lie down or use the surrounding trees for support. Instead, she walks up to Apple Bloom, eyes burning and fists clenched to her sides.

“What was that?” asks Sweetie Belle between her deep breaths.

“Whoever that was, they were after something. Or somepony,” says Scootaloo, stopping next to Apple Bloom and giving her an accusing look. “Apple Bloom?”

Apple Bloom remains silent, not really sure how to answer their questions since she has no idea who or what that was. But she has an idea of what they were after, and her hand brushes against the pocket holding the Amulet as the thought of her being the target of Sombra's minions bring her to a grim realization that she has been found out. And she does not have Twilight or Spike to protect her or Twist. They are completely alone.

As soon as that thought crosses her mind, though, she banishes it and looks at Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. She and Twist are not alone. At least she hopes so, anyway.

“Me and Twist need to get to Breeze,” says Apple Bloom. She hesitates, then asks: “Can you help us?”

Scootaloo thinks for a moment. “The Blueberry Ferry can get you close. Follow me.”

Night has fallen on the forest, and the full moon and stars of the heavens shine down on the group as they sneak their way through the forest with great speed. They remain low and occasionally stop to hide by the trees, peeking out and quickly scanning their surroundings before they dark to the next spot.

Apple Bloom and Twists cloaks help camouflage them in their surroundings, but with the bright shirts of their companions, the earth foaling is worried that their pursuer might see them easier. Her fears become a reality when a familiar screech echoes in the forest, freezing everyone in their tracks.

“Oh, no,” gasps Twist.

Apple Bloom feels a chill run up her spine and mane, and she looks over her shoulder to see an imposing figure standing in a forest clearing. The figure's features are completely hidden by his tattered, ankle length cloak, but when he lifts up his arm to reveal an armored gauntlet that is covered by a curving ice blade that shines in the moonlight, her eyes widen she screams.

“RUN!”

The group turns and they all scream with fright as well and run through the forest, blindly knocking aside branches and ignoring the accumulating scratches covering their bodies. The cloaked figure screeches again and charges after them, kicking up the ground with every heavy step it takes, and Apple Bloom wills herself to run faster.

She grits her teeth and forces any discomfort her heavy legs or aching lungs may have, refusing to let herself be killed by whatever that thing is. She can hear the cloaked monster run after her, slicing away any obstacle, and the Amulet becomes heavier until she stumbles from its weight and rolls in the layer of dead leaves and rotting wood, losing some of their cooking gear in the process.

Apple Bloom rolls on her back right as the frost monster jumps in front of her, kicking up rapidly freezing mulch, and it curls its bladed arm for a strike, leaving the foaling paralyzed with fear.

“The Amulet,” hisses the creature.

It brings its blade arm down, and right as Apple Bloom squeezes her eyes shut to spare herself the sight of being impaled, she hears Twist scream, ice breaking from a metallic collision and the creature screaming. She opens her eyes and sees Twist in front of her, holding the frying pan with both hands and shaking legs spread to give her a good stance while the creature's body is shifting and its ice blade reforming.

“Apple Bloom, get up!” shouts Sweetie Belle.

Despite the Amulet's immense weight, Apple Bloom still scrambles to her feet and runs towards Sweetie Belle, looking over her shoulder to see Twist dive under the legs of the monster as it swings at her, easily slicing into the tree's trunk. Apple Bloom screams for Twist, and the cloaked monster turns to them, only to get a rock to the face that Scootaloo had thrown. It stumbles back, and snaps towards the pegasus, who throws another rock at it, which it deflects with a swipe of its reformed blade.

With that distraction, Twist runs towards Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, nearly tripping over herself in the process. Apple Bloom looks towards Scootaloo and sees her dive out of view as the demonic creature stabs the tree she stood in front of seconds before.

Apple Bloom is about to call for Scootaloo, but Sweetie Belle grabs her arm and pulls her towards the dock.

“Let's go! Scootaloo is distracting that thing so we can get out of here!” she says urgently.

“But-” begins Apple Bloom, reluctantly running with Sweetie Belle and Twist.

“No buts! She'll be fine! Trust me!”

Pipsqueak sits on one of the ferry's benches, using a slab of wood as a makeshift table to scribble notes on his checklist made out of simple pictures of various fruits and vegetables, and a few barrels with cider brands next to them. He scribbles a note next to Apple Acres Cider, reminding him to get three more barrels on the next trip over to the trading post.

After making that note, he looks up and sees Button Mash poking at the wooden deck, completely bored. “Are you ready to go?”

“Yes,” replies his companion, confirming to Pipsqueak that he is absolutely bored.

“Alright. I just finished, anyway, so we can...”

Pipsqueak's voice trails off and his ears turn when he hears screaming. Lots of screaming.

He and Button Mash turn their heads in unison just in time to see Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom and Twist running towards them so fast their feet are barely touching the ground.

“Untie the boat! Untie the boat!” yells Sweetie Belle, waving her hand frantically.

Pipsqueak and Button Mash exchange confused looks, then look back at the mares, wondering why they are shouting, and more importantly, what's got them so spooked.

“Untie the boat!” screams Sweetie Belle, terror and rage breaking through the cracks in her voice.

As soon as she finishes that sentence, Scooaloo runs out of the forest, nearly falling over when she slips on the ground. She scrambles on her hands and feet and bolts towards Sweetie Belle's group, and right as her feet touch the wooden planks of the dock, a tall figure shrouded in a tattered cloak jumps out of the forest. Its landing kicks up dirt that freezes around it, and it shrieks and holds its curved ice blade out to the side, charging at full speed, leaving frozen footprints in its wake.

That gets them moving.

The two stallions scramble towards the rope and start untying as fast as they can, their fingers trembling and eyes darting from their work to the thing chasing the mares. Faster than they can finish, Sweetie Belle's group runs on their boat, and right as the rope falls loose, Scootaloo jumps on. And so does the cloaked monster.

It lands on the ferry hard enough to send its back dipping into the water, and a circle of ice forms around it and starts to cover everything in a layer of frost.

“Medallion,” rumbles the Amulet.

Apple Bloom gasps loudly and stumbles back to where she falls on her back when the cloaked figure locks on to her. She starts backing up, still on her back, eyes wide and watering and heart thumping in her ears as her breathing becomes short and sporadic.

“The Amulet,” hisses the creature again, marching towards her with its bladed arm raised for another strike.

Seeing this, Pipsqueak swallows all the fear he can and grabs the nearest object within his reach, which just happens to be one of the ferry's lanterns, and her throws it at the cloaked demon. The glass shatters and the monster shrieks in agony as oily flame engulfs its body in a matter of seconds. It flails its arms wildly, shrieking and slicing everything it touches with its melting blade, and the foalings scream and try to dodge the tall creature's attacks.

Empty barrels are cut open, railings are split and a pole holding up the last lantern is sliced in half, with the lantern luckily falling into the water. By that time, its ice blade breaks off, leaving its weaponized glove exposed, and when it swipes at Apple Bloom, narrowly missing her head, Pipsqueak grabs a piece of a broken barrel and swings it against its side. The creature stumbles back towards the edge of the ferry with bits of burning cloth and flesh falling on the edge of the ferry, still shrieking in agony, and Button Mash grabs the steering stick and jabs the creature in the gut, pushing it the rest of the way off. It lands on its back on the dock and Button Mash uses the stick to push away their boat away from it. In seconds time, the time river's currents guide the ferry downstream at a decent speed, but for Pipsqueak and everyone else on board, they are not going fast enough.

"We need to get to Breeze. How far is it?" asks Apple Bloom through her erratic breaths, tears rolling down her cheeks and not breaking her eyes away from the burning body on the dock.

"Thirty five miles, but the ferry will only take us twenty so we'll have to walk the rest of the way," says Button Mash, his speech as quick as his steps as he briskly moves to the proper position to steer the ferry.

"We're safe for now," said Pipsqueak, his hands and little body trembling while he quickly gives the group of terrified mares a blanket each from a broken box with EMERGENCY written on it. “Is anypony hurt?”

Apple Bloom's pulls her blanket tight around her body hand and clutches the blood stain on her shirt, shaking her head, too terrified to speak. Sweetie Belle and Twist murmur various phrases to let Pipsqueak know that they are fine. Only Scootaloo remains completely still and silent, for she is lost in the sight of the dark forest passing them.

Apple Bloom touches the pegasus foaling's shoulder, making her jump, and she is quick to apologize, adding: “Are you alright?”

Scootaloo nods and wipes tears out of her eyes. “I'm fine. It was just way too close for my liking.” She looks at Apple Bloom. “Please tell me that whoever is in Breeze will help us.”

Apple Bloom nods, swallowing a lump in her throat as she clutches the foaling's shoulder tighter. “We'll be meeting Twilight there. Everything will be alright after that.”

“I hope your right.”

Apple Bloom looks down, muttering: “Me, too.”

Minutes later, Medallion growls and sits up on the dock with smoke rising from his smoldering cloak and armored hand clutching his face tightly. He pulls back his hood to reveal a horribly burnt face where charred bone is exposed from the chunks of pale blue skin that has been burned away. He goes on his hands and knees and weakly crawls towards the dock edge, sticks his hand in the water and splashes his face. Flesh and pale skin returns in seconds time, and once his face returns, his eye sockets become filled with a swirling green mist. He sticks his hand in the water again, grunting when a flimsy sheet of ice forms around him. He pulls his hand out and the ice layer breaks under the gentle waves of the river edge, then he stands up at his full height, flips the hood of his cloak back up to cover his face, and marches down the dock, fists and jaw clenched tight.

“I found the Amulet, but the bearer escaped with it,” he says irritably through his thoughts.

“How?” demands Starswirl in a matching tone.

“Being set aflame still hurts, and even bugs can be a nuisance if there are many.”

“Which direction did the Amulet go?”

“Down south on the Foalington River. A young, orange and red foaling has it. She is traveling with five more of her kind.”

“The nearest settlement will be Breeze. I shall go with the others and start from there.”

Medallion grins with bloodthirsty eagerness and turns his walk into a full run. “I will meet you there.”

Author's Notes:

Yay for inspiration!